System and method for preparing cold food or beverages from a pack

ABSTRACT

The invention refers to a pack (10) for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product, the pack comprising at least one container (30) having an inner volume where an ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored and a fitment assembly (20) affixed to the at least one container and communicating with its inner volume, the fitment assembly (20) being configured so as to provide a fluid jet circulating in the inner volume of the pack, the fluid being provided at a higher temperature than the temperature of the ingredient when it has been made frozen or partially frozen so that the majority of the ingredient melts into the cooled food or beverage product dispensed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and a corresponding method for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages from a pack, in particular a flexible pack, which comprises the food or beverage base ingredients.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Preparing food or beverages from flexible packs or containers which comprise the food or beverage ingredients is known in the state of the art, such as per documents WO 99/05044 or WO 2011/024103 for example. These flexible containers or packs have generally the advantage to semi-rigid and rigid containers, typically with the shape of a capsule, that less amount of material is used to pack the product which leads to overall less production costs, to lower life cycle impacts shown in several life-cycle assessments and to advantages on the part of the user, who will need less available space for storing these packs, as they are more compact.

In order to allow the preparation of a cold or chilled food or beverage product from a flexible pack or container, some existing solutions in the state of the art add for example ice cubes or ice slush to lower the temperature of the product dispensed from the pack, for example as known from patent documents WO 2006/123131 or EP 1964785 A2, for example. The problem of such solutions is that they lead to a dilution of the final food or beverage product and to a strong modification of its final taste.

In other arrangements known from the state of the art, the machine where the food or beverage product is prepared from the pack needs to comprise an integrated cooling module in order to provide a cold or chilled final product. However, such solutions have the problem of the high cost and the high volume and weight that the machine needs to have.

Still other solutions use machines where cold water is directly provided into the water tank, typically by adding ice cubes, so that no integrated cooling module is required: however, in such solutions, water heats up after being pumped and, even more, because this cold water is mixed with product being at ambient temperature and is typically mixed in a cup or recipient that is also at ambient temperature, the final food or beverage product obtained in the cup has a temperature (typically comprised around 12 and 15° C.) which is higher than the optimal one (usually required to be below 10° C.) from the consumer's perception point of view.

The present invention comes to provide a solution to the above-described needs, as it will be further explained. The invention also aims at other objects and particularly at the solution of other problems as will appear in the rest of the present description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect, the invention refers to a pack for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product, the pack comprising at least one container having an inner volume where an ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored and a fitment assembly affixed to the at least one container and communicating with its inner volume, the fitment assembly being configured so as to provide a fluid jet circulating in the inner volume of the pack, the fluid being provided at a higher temperature than the temperature of the ingredient when it has been made frozen or partially frozen so that the majority of the ingredient melts into the cooled food or beverage product dispensed.

The pack of the invention preferably comprises at least an internal sealing arranged in at least one of the containers in such a way that an ingredient chamber is configured in the inner volume of at least one container where the frozen or partially frozen ingredient is stored distanced from the fitment assembly. Typically, the internal sealing is breakable by the fluid jet.

Preferably, the content of at least one of the containers is a frozen or partially frozen mixture of product and fluid.

Typically, the pack comprises at least two containers, the content of at least one of the containers being a product at temperature below 0° C.

According to the invention, the fitment assembly of the pack is configured in such a way that fluid can be supplied into a single container or into a plurality of containers sequentially, as a function of the product to be dispensed. Typically, the fitment assembly is configured to provide a certain total volume of fluid at a certain fluid flow into the container or plurality of containers of the pack.

Typically, the fitment assembly is configured as a single insert further allowing the dispensing of the food or beverage product prepared.

The pack of the invention comprises at least one sheet of flexible water impermeable material joined to configure the inner volume of the pack, the material being chosen from plastic laminates, metallised foil or alufoil or fibre base material.

Preferably, the fitment assembly of the pack of the invention comprises a centering and immobilizing hole configured for cooperating with a dedicated part in a food or beverage preparation device where the food or beverage product is prepared. Also preferably, the fitment assembly is configured to be reversibly pierced by a food or beverage preparation device so that fluid can be reversibly injected into the pack.

The pack of the invention is typically configured into an essentially plane shape being essentially vertically oriented during preparation of the cooled food or beverage product.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a system for preparing cooled food or beverages from a pack as the one described in a preparation device, the device comprising injecting means for providing fluid through the fitment assembly into the inner volume of the container at a certain velocity.

According to a third aspect, the invention refers further to a method for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product in a system as the one described previously, the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   placing a pack essentially vertically oriented in a device the         fitment assembly being arranged on the lower part of the pack;     -   providing fluid into the inner volume of the pack through the         fitment assembly at a certain velocity and temperature allowing         melting of the frozen or partially frozen content in the pack.

In the method of the invention, the pack typically comprises an internal sealing configuring an ingredient chamber in the inner volume of the container where the ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored distanced from the fitment assembly: the method comprises the step of providing fluid into the inner volume of the pack through the fitment assembly at a certain pressure calculated such that it allows breaking the internal sealing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features, advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent for a skilled person when reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of a pack comprising a container and a fitment assembly comprising inside the food or beverage base ingredients to prepare a cold or chilled food or beverage according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a fitment assembly in a pack as shown in FIG. 1, according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a frontal view of another embodiment of a pack comprising a container and a fitment assembly comprising inside the food or beverage base ingredients to prepare a cold or chilled food or beverage according to the present invention, the pack comprising two symmetrically arranged slopes in its lower part.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a device for processing a pack according to any of FIG. 1 or 3, such that the pack and the device configure a system for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an overview of the heat energy process taking place in a standard process for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages according to the known prior art.

FIG. 6 shows an overview of the heat energy process taking place in the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages using a system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a graph representing the beverage outlet temperature for different beverage volumes, comparing the standard process for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages according to the known prior art as represented in FIG. 5 and the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages using a system according to the present invention as represented in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a graph representing the beverage in cup temperature for different beverage volumes, comparing the standard process for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages according to the known prior art as represented in FIG. 5 and the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages using a system according to the present invention as represented in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of another embodiment of a pack comprising two containers brought together by a fitment assembly according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a system 100 for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages from a pack 10: preferably, the pack 10 is a flexible pack, and comprises the food or beverage base ingredients that will be processed in its inner volume in order to obtain the final cold or chilled product.

The system 100 of the invention also comprises a device 40 for preparing the cold or chilled food or beverage product from the pack 10.

According to the present invention the food or beverage base ingredients comprised in the pack 10 are provided in an initial frozen or semi-frozen state, coming from a standard home freezer where their temperature has been lowered typically to approximately −18° C.

When talking of ingredient in the present description it is to be understood that the ingredient is able to be frozen totally or partially when introduced for a certain amount of time in a standard home freezer, where the temperature is typically lowered to approximately −18° C.

The ingredients in the pack 10 are typically configured as a mixture comprising a certain quantity of food or beverage product, preferably in powder, together with a certain quantity of fluid, typically water. The resulting food or beverage mixture filling the pack 10 is then introduced in the freezer where it is frozen to a typical temperature of about −18° C.

Because the mixture comprises a certain quantity of powder and a certain quantity of fluid, melting of the frozen mixture can be more easily achieved compared to a frozen product comprising uniquely fluid in its composition. This frozen product uniquely made of fluid would have a much harder final configuration that would therefore be more difficult to melt.

The powder component of the pack can be comprised within the list of: soups, fruit juices, vegetable juices, bouillons, coffee, chocolate, tea, milk or creamer, smoothies, purees, coulis, creams or a combination thereof. The food or beverage base ingredients can be a soluble food or beverage ingredient. Preferably the food or beverage ingredient is a soluble food or beverage ingredient selected in the list of:

-   -   instant coffee powder, milk powder, cream powder, instant tea         powder, cocoa powder, soup powder, fruit powder or mixture of         said powders,     -   a coffee concentrate, a milk concentrate, a syrup, a fruit or         vegetable concentrate, a tea concentrate, a fruit or vegetable         puree.

The powders can be agglomerated or sintered. The powders or liquid concentrates can be mixed with solid pieces for example for preparing soups with solid pieces. The food or beverage ingredient can also be an infusable food or beverage ingredient like a roast and ground coffee or tea leaves. In that embodiment water extracts the infusable ingredient.

In the present invention fluid covers any aqueous diluent that can be mixed with a soluble beverage ingredient to prepare a beverage or with a food ingredient to prepare a food product, like water, carbonated water, milk, etc. However, according to the invention, water is the preferred fluid which will be used and which has been in fact been used for the exemplary calculations provided herewith.

The pack 10 used in the system 100 of the invention comprises at least one container 30 and a spout or fitment assembly 20: the container 30 preferably comprises two flexible water impermeable sheets joined to one another to define an inner volume where the food or beverage mixture is stored and the fitment assembly 20 is the part of the pack through which fluid coming from the device 40 to melt the mixture (frozen or partially frozen as it comes from the freezer, reaching a temperature of around −18° C.) is provided inside the container 30 and is also the part through which the final food or beverage product is dispensed.

According to the invention, it is also possible that the pack 10 comprises a plurality of containers 30, typically two containers. According to the invention, when a plurality of containers is provided, any variation of the content of these containers is possible (powder and fluid, only fluid, only powder). Typically, one container can comprise a mixture of powder product and fluid while another container can comprise only powder product. In such an example, when the pack comprising the two containers is introduced in the freezer, the mixture of fluid and powder would freeze and solidify at least partially, while the powder in the other container would still maintain its constitution (powder) at −18° C. Thus, when a pack 10 configured in such a way would be processed in a device 40, the fluid at ambient temperature introduced in the container comprising the frozen mixture (powder and fluid) would melt the mixture while the fluid at ambient temperature would mainly reconstitute (rehydrate) the powder substance that can add for example an extra or specific flavouring or add additional nutritional benefits to the final food or beverage produced. A very small quantity of fluid will be added to this second container comprising the powder in order to avoid the heating of the final product dispensed through the pack.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a pack 10 according to the invention having two containers 30 and 30′: the fitment assembly 20 for this configuration would preferably comprise a primary fluid inlet 21 and a secondary fluid inlet 22, the primary fluid inlet 21 being communicated with one container 30 through a primary injection hole 26 and the secondary fluid inlet 22 being communicated with another container 30′ through a secondary injection hole 26′. It is also possible that the primary and secondary fluid inlets 21 and 22 are communicated with the inner volume of the containers 30 and 30′ through only one injection hole. The processing device 40 will be configured to supply fluid into the containers 30 and 30′ through the fluid inlets sequentially, as a function of the product or recipe targeted. The total volume of fluid introduced in each container together with the flow of fluid would also be typically controlled, as well as the sequential dispensing, by means of appropriate identification means preferably arranged in the pack 10 and that will be read by the processing device 40.

Preferably, the pack 10 presents an essentially plane shape, the pack itself being substantially flexible and looking like a pouch or sachet. By flexible, it is meant that the sheets can be bent easily. The resulting pack 10 can be bent also, as it is soft and can be deformed contrary to rigid containers. The flexible sheet material can be plastic laminates, metallised foil or alufoil or fibre base material. According to the invention the two flexible water impermeable sheets can be formed of one single flexible water impermeable sheet folded in half and joined at its free edges.

The pack 10 can also comprise an excrescence enabling its handling by the user or consumer (not shown in the Figures).

As previously described, the fitment assembly 20 of the pack 10 acts simultaneously as fluid inlet and as product outlet, configured as a single insert or part: it comprises at least one primary fluid inlet 21 through which fluid is injected into the container 30, as shown in FIG. 1 or 2. Preferably, the fitment assembly 20 also comprises a secondary fluid inlet 22, typically arranged opposite to the primary fluid inlet 21 allowing that fluid can be introduced either through the primary fluid inlet 21 or through the secondary fluid inlet 22 independently on how the pack 10 has been introduced in the device 40 (i.e. that the fluid can be introduced either frontally or reversibly). This configuration clearly presents a very important advantage for the consumer.

Preferably, the pack 10 presents an essentially plane shape, wherein the fitment assembly 20 is arranged on one of the sides of the pack 10.

The fitment assembly 20 also comprises at least one dispensing fluid outlet 23 through which the product is dispensed: the dispensing fluid outlet 23 is preferably configured so that it delivers the product as a free flow, meaning that the product can flow from the dispensing outlet 23 by simple gravity fall. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dispensing fluid outlet 23 is open at the bottom under a transverse section with a surface area equivalent to the surface of a circular surface of diameter of at least 1 mm, preferably at most 4 mm, even more preferably comprised between 1.5 and 3 mm. The dispensing fluid outlet 23 is typically configured as a straight tube oriented essentially vertically in the fitment assembly 20. The length of the tube is preferably of at least 5 mm. Such a length generally enables a finalisation of the froth of the product, typically a beverage, before it is delivered in a drinking cup. An advantage of using such a dispensing fluid outlet 23 is that there is no need to implement a particular connection between the outlet and the machine or device when a food or beverage product is produced in order to direct the flow of the product delivered: the food or beverage product can flow from the dispensing fluid outlet 23 directly into a drinking cup or appropriate recipient.

According to the invention, before the food or beverage preparation step, the dispensing fluid outlet 23 is closed at its end. Generally the dispensing outlet is closed by manufacturing and is configured for being opened at food or beverage production step: therefore, when the pack 10 is introduced in the freezer to freeze its content to the appropriate temperature, the dispensing fluid outlet 23 is kept closed. By “closed by manufacturing” it is meant that a complete pack, comprising the container and the fitment assembly 20, is manufactured with a closed dispensing fluid outlet 23. This closure guarantees hygienic and shelf life protection. The dispensing outlet 23 can be opened by a machine or manually.

Preferably the dispensing fluid outlet 23 is closed by a plug 27 comprising means for maintaining it attached to the fitment assembly 20 after the opening of the dispensing outlet 23. Consequently the plug 27 does not fall in the beverage or food during its production. The means for maintaining the plug 27 attached to the fitment assembly 20 can be a plastic bond attached to the fitment assembly 20, for example, or any other suitable means providing a similar effect. Moreover, the dispensing fluid outlet 23 can also comprise a weakened area near the plug 27: this weakened area can be made for example as a narrowing of the dispensing outlet tube so that it is easier to cut or tear off the plug 27 by the machine or device.

Preferably the plug 27 is part of one single fitment assembly 20 comprising the dispensing outlet and the fluid inlet. In particular when the fitment assembly 20 is made by injection moulding, the design of the mould also comprises the plug 27. In the same manner the plastic bond can also be part of the design of the fitment assembly 20 when it is made by injection moulding, which again provides advantages from a manufacturing point of view, as the same part comprises the fluid inlet, the plug 27 and the bond.

The fitment assembly 20 preferably also comprises a centering hole 53 extending essentially perpendicularly to the generally plane shape of the inner volume of the pack 10 and through the fitment assembly 20. It is positioned in such a way that it remains free for cooperating with a corresponding centering and immobilization device of the beverage preparation device.

The fitment assembly 20 is preferably rigid and is made of a rigid plastic material, preferably by injection moulding. Typically, this plastic material can be selected from the following: polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polylactic acid. Also according to a less preferred embodiment the fitment assembly 20 can be made of a metal like aluminium or tin-plate.

Preferably, the fluid inlets 21, 22 are piercable by injecting means, typically piercing and injecting means, preferably a fluid needle, called in what follows needle, such that these injecting means typically comprise an inner duct or pipe through which fluid (typically water) is injected in the fluid inlets 21, 22 at a certain pressure, which can be higher than atmospheric pressure, typically higher than 1 bar or higher than 2 bar. The fluid inlets 21, 22 are configured for introducing the fluid in the form of a jet in the inner volume of the container or containers: in fact, the fluid inlets are configured for transforming the fluid (typically pressurized) introduced in the pack by the piercing and injecting means of the device 40 into a fluid jet circulating inside the volume of the pack. Such a configuration is preferably obtained in the present invention by placing a constriction (that of the injection hole) in the fluid path in the fluid inlet to reduce the size of the section of the fluid inlet. Due to the small surface of the injection hole through which the fluid goes into the inner volume of the pack, the pressurized fluid creates a jet in the inner volume of the container or containers.

According to the present invention, a fluid jet is to be understood as a stream of fluid projected into the inner volume of the pack typically from a nozzle, orifice or constriction. The fluid jet is conveyed into the inner volume of the pack through the constriction (that of the injection hole) and a circulation of the fluid is established inside this volume and typically around the frozen ingredient arranged inside. The fluid jet is provided with a higher momentum compared to the surrounding medium inside the pack, the momentum being given by the product of the fluid mass and its velocity. The important feature is that the fluid injected into the inner volume of the pack circulates inside this volume allowing the melting of the majority of the frozen or partially frozen ingredients kept inside. However, it is also possible that these fluid inlets 21, 22 are directly accessible by injecting means which will inject fluid directly without the need to pierce any external lid or membrane in these fluid inlets.

The fluid inlets 21, 22 preferably comprise a yieldably cover over them that can be pierced by the injecting and piercing means. The injecting means also comprise a toroidal ring, preferably made of rubber, ensuring that there is no leakage of fluid outside the fluid inlet while the injecting means are injecting fluid into the fluid inlet. Each fluid inlet is communicated with the inside volume of the container 30 through an injection hole 26 which can be different for each fluid inlet or which can be common for both fluid inlets.

According to the invention, the fluid inlets can also be configured for providing an orientable jet into the container, preferably at about 90° with respect to the fluid supply provided into the fluid inlets by the injecting means, though any other angle would be possible and comprised within the scope of the present application.

The fluid inlet or inlets are configured for introducing a fluid jet in the inner volume of the pack under a certain pressure with a velocity (thus, having a certain momentum) that allows the circulation of the fluid inside the volume of the container or containers, more specifically creating a circulation around the frozen or partially frozen ingredient kept inside: in this way, better melting of the most part of the ingredients is achieved. Such a configuration is preferably obtained by placing a constriction (that of the injection hole) in the fluid path in the fluid inlet to reduce the size of the section of the fluid inlet. Due to the small surface of the injection hole through which the fluid goes into the inner volume of the container, the fluid creates a circulating flow in the inner volume of the pack.

As described previously, the pack 10 comprising the food or beverage ingredient is introduced in a freezer: once it is removed from the freezer, the resulting pack comprises in its inner volume the ingredient in a frozen or semi-frozen state, being therefore made solid or partially solid. Once the jet is created inside the container 30, it flows through the only free path available which also represents the easiest path for the fluid to flow through (less hydraulic resistance) surrounding the frozen ingredient (therefore develops into a kind of circular movement around the frozen ingredient element). As the jet circulates around the ingredient, it gradually melts it and the cold or chilled product is therefore consequently dispensed through the dispensing fluid outlet 23.

Preferably, the container 30 comprises an internal sealing 31 as schematically represented in FIG. 3. The purpose of the internal sealing 31 is to maintain the ingredient or ingredients in an ingredient chamber 32 separated from the rest of the container inner volume: thus, when the pack 10 in introduced in the freezer, the ingredient freezes exclusively inside the chamber 32 avoiding that any product that may have entered the fitment assembly 20 during storage of the pack freezes once the pack is introduced in the freezer, as this may block parts of the fitment assembly preventing a proper introduction of the jet inside the container. The internal sealing 31 is typically configured as a weak internal sealing being breakable under the pressure of the jet introduced inside the container through the injection hole 26, typically a weak seal breakable at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

If the pack 10 does not have an internal sealing 31, then it is preferred that it is introduced in the freezer in a vertical position with the fitment assembly 20 arranged on the upper part of the pack, so that the ingredient inside does not freeze close to the fitment assembly 20, which can possibly block it. When the pack is provided with the internal sealing 31, it can be positioned inside the freezer in any possible orientation which certainly represents a big advantage for the consumer.

Besides, the small surface of the injection holes presents the advantage of avoiding any back flow of fluid from the inner volume of the container into the fluid inlets. For the same fluid to be provided through the fluid inlets, the surface of the injection hole can vary according to the nature of the ingredients inside the pack.

Preferably, according to the invention, the pack 10 presents a plane shape oriented along a plane essentially vertically oriented during beverage production: the fluid inlets orientate the jet of fluid in a direction comprised in said plane. According to the invention, the food or beverage containers are arranged essentially vertically during the production and dispensing of the product, and the fitment assembly 20 is arranged in such a way that the fluid coming through the fluid inlets is supplied into the containers in an upward direction.

Typically, the two flexible water impermeable sheets joined to one another to define the inner volume of the container are formed of one single flexible water impermeable sheet folded in half and joined at its free edges. According to said mode the container is a plane pouch made of a flexible material sheet, said sheet being folded at the top of the container and bonded on its edges to define the inner volume, the bottom bonded edge typically including the fitment assembly 20. This embodiment constitutes a particularly easy way to manufacture the pack 10 comprising the containers and the fitment assembly since it requires the cutting of only one piece of sheet—most preferably according to a rectangular shape—and its folding to create the inner volume for the food or beverage ingredient. Typically, also for manufacturing convenience, the fitment assembly 20 is introduced in the bottom edge of the container during the sealing of its edges; previously, the ingredient product has been introduced in the container and the internal sealing has been configured after that.

The fluid inlets are typically enclosed in the complete pack 10 by the sheet(s) of material defining the inner volume of the containers: the yieldable cover over the fluid inlets piercable by the injecting means is therefore made by the sheets of material covering these fluid inlets, so it is not necessary to prepare any supplementary cover or membrane to go over them, so the manufacturing is easy and convenient. Consequently the same piece of material can be used to simultaneously create the inner volume of the container and to close the fluid inlets. As such, the invention provides a pack 10 that is easy to manufacture and which guarantees hygienic and shelf life protection of the food and beverage ingredients and of the produced food or beverage product.

Preferably, the introduction of the fitment assembly 20 in the bottom edge of the container during the sealing of its edges to configure the complete pack 10 makes it possible that the flexible sheet can cover the part of the fitment assembly 20 including the fluid inlet. Consequently during the single step of bonding the edges of the sheet, it is possible to simultaneously create the inner volume for storing the food or beverage ingredient, place the fitment assembly 20 and close the fluid inlet. Preferably the dispensing outlet is not covered by the sheet. Yet it can be visually hidden by a part of the sheet e.g. by a skirt of the sheet.

Also as shown in FIG. 3, the food or beverage containers preferably comprise at least one, more preferably two sloped areas 11 symmetrically arranged presenting slanted shapes in the vicinity of the fitment assembly 20 converging towards the fitment assembly 20, which enhance and facilitate the path to be followed by the jet inside the inner volume of the container 30 so that it can follow as closely as possible the external shape of the frozen ingredient in order to melt it gradually and provide the final product. Besides, these sloped areas 11 avoid that a minimized quantity of food or beverage product can be kept inside the container and not be dispensed through the dispensing outlet. The sloped areas 11 can be obtained by sidewise sealing the corners of the containers. The food or beverage containers can present various external shapes like rectangular, square or round shapes.

FIGS. 5 and 6 represent an overview of the heat energy process that takes place in a standard process for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages according to the known prior art and of the heat energy process taking place in the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages using a system according to the present invention, respectively.

In both Figures, the equilibrium temperatures have been calculated by the energy balance (i.e. heat energy) such as:

Σ(C _(p) mdT)+Σ(L _(f) m)=0

where:

Σ(C _(p) mdT)

is the heat energy related to temperature difference

C_(p) is the specific heat capacity depending on the material

m is the mass of the product or ingredient

and

dT is the temperature difference (dT=T_(final)−T_(initial))

and where:

Σ(L _(f) m)

is the heat energy related to the phase change

Lf is the latent heat depending on the material

and

m is the mass of the product or ingredient

As shown in FIG. 5, in a standard cooling process of a product having a certain mass m and specific heat capacity value C_(p) a cold fluid (typically cold water, preferably at 5° C.) is added to the product (typically a powder product at ambient temperature of around 23° C.): therefore, heat energy transfer linked to the change of temperature of the powder product from ambient temperature into a lower temperature T₁ at the beverage outlet would be given by:

Σ(C _(p) mdT)

A further energy transfer would occur as the cooled product at temperature T₁ would be dispensed into a cup, the cup being provided at ambient temperature of around 23° C.: thus, the cup material would decrease its temperature to T₂ and at the same time the product dispensed would increase its temperature from T₁ into T₂ so that an equilibrium is reached. This heat energy transfer for the product dispensed would be again ruled by:

Σ(C _(p) mDT)

As shown in FIG. 6, in a cooling process according to the present invention, a certain product (coming into the pack) is provided in a frozen or semi-frozen state (typically coming from a freezer) at around −18° C.: this frozen ingredient is typically comprised by a powder part and a water part. This pack comprising the frozen mixture inside is then introduced in the corresponding device of the invention where a fluid (typically water) at ambient temperature, around 23° C., is provided inside the pack. A first energy transfer takes place and the powder part of the product at −18° C. in the pack changes its temperature to T₁ by the effect of the water flowing through it while the water part of the ingredient product (ice) changes from −18° C. into 0° C. Both heat transfers (of the powder and water parts of the mixture) are given by:

Σ(C _(p) mDT)

The water part of the mixture is then melted and changes phase from being solid (ice) into being liquid, so the energy released by this mass at constant temperature of 0° C. is given by latent heat:

Further, the melted ice product (water part of the mixture) achieves the temperature T₁ departing from 0° C., this heat energy being given by:

Σ(L _(f) m)

Therefore, the whole product (powder and water) are provided at T₁ at the beverage outlet, as represented in FIG. 6. Similarly to what was explained for the standard process in FIG. 5, a further energy transfer would occur as the cooled product at temperature T₁ would be dispensed into a cup, the cup being provided at ambient temperature of around 23° C.: thus, the cup material would decrease its temperature to T₂ and at the same time the product dispensed would increase its temperature from T₁ into T₂ so that an equilibrium is reached. This heat energy transfer for the product dispensed would be again ruled by:

Σ(C _(p) mDT)

As it can be seen from the explanatory graphs, the main advantage of the invention is to achieve the same cold temperature (T₂) for the product dispensed departing from a machine or device that injects water at ambient temperature and not needing that cooled water (typically at around 5° C.) is provided. Therefore, the system of the present invention does not need to have a compressor or any cooling module which is the part of the system more costly and complicated. By taking advantage of the stored energy in the product (latent heat) cold temperatures of final beverages (typically lower than 10° C.) are easily achieved.

In the graphs shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, exemplary calculations have been done departing from:

-   -   for the standard cooling process, 10 g of product provided in         powder at ambient temperature of 23° C., dispensed into a 320 g         glass cup also at ambient temperature of 23° C., processed in a         machine or device providing water at 5° C.;     -   for the cooling process according to the invention, a pack         comprising a frozen mixture at −18° C., comprising 10 g of         powder product and 30 ml of water product, dispensed into a 320         g glass cup also at ambient temperature of 23° C., processed in         a machine or device providing water at ambient temperature of         23° C.

FIG. 8 shows the variation of the in-cup product temperature (final targeted value being below 10° C.) and the targeted volumes of standard consumed beverages: the targeted values according to the present invention are for beverages having a volume between 100 ml and 200 ml, preferably between 150 ml and 200 ml. FIG. 8 is a similar graph showing the temperature at the beverage outlet.

The invention aims at providing a targeted beverage of a volume comprised between 150 ml and 200 ml at a temperature below 10° C. For reaching this a device according to the present invention injects a fluid through the fitment assembly 20 of a pack 10 providing a fluid jet circulating inside said pack. It has been proved with this method that, by optimising the recipe of the mixture inside the pack and by targeting at the majority of the product inside to be melted that a mixture having 30 ml of water and 10 g of powder would provide a beverage of 200 ml at 10° C., when 170 ml of water at 23° C. are added inside the pack. In the standard known process, 200 ml of water at 5° C. are added instead.

In fact, the water part of the mixture of the pack (as it will be further seen from the analysis of Table 2 below) aims at providing the energy needed for the cooling of the beverage in the process, whereas the powder part of the mixture provides the flavour (taste) of the beverage targeted. Typically, the quantity of water (fluid) in the mixture will be higher than that of powder.

The values used for the above calculations are indicated in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 C_(p) and L_(f) typical values for materials/products used in the invention Water Powder Glass Ice Ice to Water Heat capacity 4′186 1′000 840 2′000 C_(p) [J/kg/K] Latent heat 330′000 L_(f) [j/kg]

Taking into account the equilibrium temperatures and energies transferred in a standard process (shown in FIG. 5) and in a process according to the invention (shown in FIG. 6), departing from the data of C_(p) and L_(f) indicated in Table 1, Table 2 below shows the estimated amount of energy in percentage that is involved in each process step A_(i) (for the standard process in FIG. 5) and B_(i) (for the process of the invention shown in FIG. 6).

TABLE 2 Energy transfer involved in a standard process and in the process according to the invention Energy needed for 200 ml beverage @ 10° C. Cp Lf Tin Tout mass Heating up Cooling down [J/kg/K] [j/kg] [° C.] [° C.] [g] Energy [kJ] [%] [−] Energy [kJ] [%] [−] 10 200 30 10 320 State of the Art Water at 5° C. 4186 5 10 200 4186 100 A1 Cup° 23° -> T2 840 23 10 320 −3494.4 96.41 Powder 23 -> T2 1000 23 10 10 −130 3.59 Total −3624.4 100 4186 100 Invention Water at 23° C. 4186 23 10 170 −9251.06 72.58 Cup° 23° -> T2 840 23 10 320 −3494.4 27.42 Ice -18 -> 0° 2000 −18 0 30 1080 8.63 B2 Ice-Water 330000 30 9900 79.10 B3 Water 0 -> T2 4186 0 10 30 1255.8 10.03 B4 Powder -18 -> T2 1000 −18 10 10 280 2.24 B1 Total −12745.5 100.00 12515.8 100.00

As clearly shown in Table 2 above together with FIGS. 5 and 6, it can then be understood that in the standard process, the cooling energy involved in cooling down a 200 ml beverage at 10° C. is entirely given by the water provided at low temperature (5° C.) by the machine. However, in the process according to the invention, the cooling energy involved in cooling down a 200 ml beverage at 10° C. is mainly given (80%) by the latent heat energy involved in the phase change of the water part of the mixture when it is melted from solid (ice) into liquid; the rest of the cooling energies involved have a much lower influence: 8% comes from the water part of the mixture changing temperature from −18° C. into 0° C., 10% from the water part of the mixture changing temperature from 0° C. into T₁ and 2% coming from the powder part of the mixture changing temperature from −18° C. into T₁. The highest part of the energy is therefore involved in the phase change.

The invention further refers to a device 40 for preparing cold or chilled food or beverages from a pack 10 as described previously. As schematically represented in FIG. 4, the device 40 comprises receiving means 42 adapted to accommodate the pack 10 preferably in such a way that the pack is positioned vertically and the fitment assembly 20 is positioned at the bottom of the pack 10, and injecting means (preferably also being piercing means, typically a fluid needle) designed for engaging with the fitment assembly 20 and for injecting high pressure fluid inside the fluid inlets of the fitment assembly 20. Typically, as the pack 10 is processed to obtain the beverage or food product in an essentially vertical position in the device 40, the pack 10 will be introduced either frontally in the device (as schematically represented in FIG. 4) though it can also be introduced laterally, for example so that it is slidably inserted into a dedicated insert in the device 40 (not represented). In any of the two cases, because the pack 10 will be preferably configured piercable in a reversible way, independently on how it is introduced in the device 40, it will be processed always in an optimized way.

Preferably the device further comprises a positioning area 49 for allocating a drinking cup under the dispensing outlet of the pack 10 when a food product or a beverage is prepared.

Besides, the present invention relates to a method for the preparation of cold or chilled food or beverages from a pack 10 comprising the food or beverage base ingredients as previously described. The method of the invention preferably comprises the following steps:

-   -   introducing a pack 10 comprising the food or beverage         ingredients in its inner volume into a freezer in order to         solidify totally or partially the ingredients into a frozen         mixture, typically at −18° C. (preferably, the frozen mixture         will be confined inside the ingredient chamber 32 of the pack         10);     -   introducing the pack 10 with the frozen mixture vertically in a         device 40 with the fitment assembly 20 of the pack 10 arranged         in the lower part of the pack;     -   injecting fluid, typically water, at ambient temperature (around         23° C.) into the inner volume of the pack 10 through the         corresponding fluid inlet in the fitment assembly 20 in order to         form a jet circulating from the lower to the upper part inside         the pack, preferably circulating around the frozen mixture         inside the pack (the jet will first break the internal sealing         31 in the pack) allowing this mixture to melt so that the cooled         or chilled food or beverage is dispensed through the         corresponding fluid outlet in the fitment assembly 20.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and alternations may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of this invention which is defined by the appended claims.

LIST OF REFERENCES 100  System 10 Pack 30, 30′ Containers 31 Internal sealing 32 Ingredient chamber 11 Sloped area 20 Fitment assembly 26 Injection hole 21 Primary fluid inlet 22 Secondary fluid inlet 23 Dispensing fluid outlet 53 Centring hole 27 Plug 40 Processing Device 49 Positioning area 42 Receiving means 

1. Pack for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product, the pack comprising: at least one container having an inner volume where an ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored and a fitment assembly affixed to the at least one container and communicating with its inner volume, the fitment assembly being configured so as to provide a fluid jet circulating in the inner volume of the pack, the fluid being provided at a higher temperature than the temperature of the ingredient when it has been made frozen or partially frozen so that the majority of the ingredient melts into the cooled food or beverage product dispensed.
 2. Pack according to claim 1 comprising at least an internal sealing arranged in at least one of the containers in such a way that an ingredient chamber is configured in the inner volume of at least one container where the frozen or partially frozen ingredient is stored distanced from the fitment assembly-.
 3. Pack according to claim 2 wherein the internal sealing is breakable by the fluid jet.
 4. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the content of at least one of the containers is a frozen or partially frozen mixture of product and fluid.
 5. Pack according to claim 4 comprising at least two containers, wherein the content of at least one of the containers is a product at temperature below 0° C.
 6. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the fitment assembly is configured in such a way that fluid can be supplied into a single container or into a plurality of containers sequentially, as a function of the product to be dispensed.
 7. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the fitment assembly is configured to provide a certain total volume of fluid at a certain fluid flow into the container or plurality of containers of the pack.
 8. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the fitment assembly is configured as a single insert further allowing the dispensing of the food or beverage product prepared.
 9. Pack according to claim 1 comprising at least one sheet of flexible water impermeable material joined to configure the inner volume of the pack, the material being selected from the group consisting of plastic laminates, metallised foil or alufoil and fiber base material.
 10. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the fitment assembly comprises a centering and immobilizing hole configured for cooperating with a dedicated part in a food or beverage preparation device where the food or beverage product is prepared.
 11. Pack according to claim 1 wherein the fitment assembly is configured to be reversibly pierced by a food or beverage preparation device so that fluid can be reversibly injected into the pack.
 12. Pack according to claim 1 configured into an essentially plane shape being essentially vertically oriented during preparation of the cooled food or beverage product.
 13. System for preparing cooled food or beverages from a pack that comprises at least one container having an inner volume where an ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored and a fitment assembly affixed to the at least one container and communicating with its inner volume, the fitment assembly being configured so as to provide a fluid jet circulating in the inner volume of the pack, the fluid being provided at a higher temperature than the temperature of the ingredient when it has been made frozen or partially frozen so that the majority of the ingredient melts into the cooled food or beverage product dispensed in a preparation device, the device comprising an injecting member for providing fluid through the fitment assembly into the inner volume of the container at a certain velocity.
 14. Method for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product in a system, the method comprising the steps of: placing a pack comprising at least one container having an inner volume where an ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored and a fitment assembly affixed to the at least one container and communicating with its inner volume, the fitment assembly being configured so as to provide a fluid jet circulating in the inner volume of the pack, the fluid being provided at a higher temperature than the temperature of the ingredient when it has been made frozen or partially frozen so that the majority of the ingredient melts into the cooled food or beverage product dispensed essentially vertically oriented in a device the fitment assembly being arranged on the lower part of the pack; and providing fluid into the inner volume of the pack through the fitment assembly at a certain velocity and temperature allowing melting of the frozen or partially frozen content in the pack.
 15. Method for the preparation of a cooled food or beverage product in a system according to claim 14, the pack comprising an internal sealing configuring an ingredient chamber in the inner volume of the container where the ingredient able to be made frozen or partially frozen is stored distanced from the fitment assembly, the method comprising the step of providing fluid into the inner volume of the pack through the fitment assembly at a certain pressure calculated such that it allows breaking the internal sealing. 